Are Pacifiers Detrimental to Your Child’s Oral Health?

Are Pacifiers Detrimental to Your Child’s Oral Health?

David Beckham made headlines last year for “bad parenting” regarding giving his little girl her pacifier in order to console her while she was upset. And although giving your child a pacifier every once in awhile, like David Beckham did, isn’t going to cause any lasting negative effects on your little one, if your child is in the habit of using a pacifier multiple times a day, you might want to come up with a plan to help them get rid of it.

What’s wrong with pacifiers?

Pacifiers are one of the greatest blessings as a parent— they can help put your child to sleep at night and can help calm them down when they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed. However, once your child’s teeth start to come in, pacifiers actually cause more harm than good. By pushing your child’s teeth forward with every sucking motion, pacifiers can cause your child’s teeth to become crooked or to even develop a large gap in between the front two teeth.

When is too old?

Every child starts to get teeth at different ages. As soon as your child develops one or two teeth, you don’t need to pull on the reins and get rid of all pacifiers. However, once they get more and more teeth, you might want to start weaning them off of their pacifier.

Helpful Tips

Just as every child will get teeth at different ages, every child has a different temperament and will react differently to you taking away their pacifier. Depending on your child’s personality and what works for you and your family, try the following tips:

Only At Bedtime: To help wean your child off of their pacifier, try to only give them their pacifier at bedtime.

Try Incentives: Try offering your child incentives for every day they go without using their pacifier or crying over it.

Explain It: In simple terms, explain to your child that pacifiers aren’t good for their health.

To learn more about your child’s oral health or to schedule an appointment, contact Dr. Janice Scott today.